I was at the game when Bo hit the longest home run at Royals stadium...it was amazing at how high the ball went. Seemed like a pop fly, but it just kept going up and up.

I worked at Royals/Chiefs stadiums back in 1986 and 1987 and I remember the first time that Bo came up from Memphis...he took some batting practice before the gates opened for that nights game. We all stopped to watch him. I remember him hitting one what seemed like 10ft short of the scoreboard in straight away center.

It's funny to think that a great athlete like that would play baseball in KC...that certainly wouldnt happen in this day and age. He'd have been a Red Sox or Yankee.

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I was at the game he ran over Rick Dempsey at home plate, I remember Dempsey tumbling backwards and landing outside the dirt circle but it looks he actually didn't go that far but at the time seemed like it.

I think this post is from 09, but I remember copying and pasting it again from a thread in 05. It's one one of those events you had to see to know it was true. And to this day, it was one of the greatest shows of arm strength in baseball I've ever seen.

Quote:

If you ever saw him during infield/outfield workouts you would have no doubt about his ability. And his hard work. That HR he hit in the ASG in Anaheim went 500 feet and was a thing of beauty.

I've mentioned this before but on the final day of the 1986 season the Royals were playing the Twins, who had clinched their first post season since 1966. I was sitting in LF GA with my brothers. The team was taking infield/outfield practice.

Lonnie Smith and Bo were the two LF'ers, with BO being a recent callup from Omaha [Memphis]. When it came time for them to make their throws to 2nd, 3rd and home.... that's when the action started.

Ground ball to LF, Lonnie scoops it up and throws a high lob, that comes fairly close to third base.

Bo is up next. Ground ball into LF, Bo scoops it up and throws a BB that (I swear) never got more 6 feet off the ground and it hits Brett's glove right on the bag. Crowd screams in delight.

They do it again and this time Lonnie throws another semi rainbow to 3b about 3 feet offline. This time the crowd boos. Lonnie's shoulder slump.

Bo up again. He fields a line drive on one hop and fires another BB that hits Brett waist high, while straddling the bag. Crowd goes crazy.

The next two balls that come to LF are for throws to home plate. Lonnie is up and fields it clean and throws a 14 hopper to the plate. The crowd boos. Loud.

Bo fields his attempt and throws a laser to the plate. ON the fly. Crowd (bigger now because of the hubub and everybody came down the line to see what was happening) screams their approval.

Lonnie filds his last attempt, bobbles the ball and throws a rainbow that misses home plate by such a margin that Sundberg has to run up the first base line to field it. The crowd rains down "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"!!!! on Lonnie. He leaves the field and Lonnie was visibly shaken. (Can't blame im).

Bo's final throw from LF was another cannon shot that went home on the fly to Sunny who was straddling the plate. The crowd went beserk.

I remember Howser talking about it in the paper the next day. He stopped Lonnie after practice and told him he was still the player who helped win this team a WS. Lonnie saw the writing on the wall though. He wasn't the same in limited duty in 87. Played in 48 games.

I love Lonnie. We'd have never won the AL West title w/o him in 1985. He was a key cog in that wheel.

Bo Jackson was the most exciting player I've ever watched wear Royals blue. Of course he was no George Brett in his career, but I just couldn't wait to watch him...whether he was throwing someone out, hitting a ball 450 feet, stealing a base, or scaling a wall.

Bo was exciting when at bat. Or when he finally tracked down a slow grounder to left field that went between his legs and he would throw it from the warning track to home plate.

Our season tickets were just past 3rd base. Got to see him miss balls constantly. Sucked at fielding.

Jason Whitlock is claiming on twitter that he beat Bo Jackson in the 40 yard dash in high school.

I was just behind Darren Sproles in sprints in high school. We were on the same basketball team and raced every day at practice during our sprints. Just couldn't get over the hump and beat him. Now days...he'd beat me by a mile. Since ya know...he became a professional football player and I became a pot & cigarette smoking graphic designer who plays video games of professional football players.

I was just behind Darren Sproles in sprints in high school. We were on the same basketball team and raced every day at practice during our sprints. Just couldn't get over the hump and beat him. Now days...he'd beat me by a mile. Since ya know...he became a professional football player and I became a pot & cigarette smoking graphic designer who plays video games of professional football players.